Fluid circulating system



Sept. l2, 1944. w. H. KUSTER ETAL FLUID CIRGULATING SYSTEM i Filed Aug.'7, 1942 INVENTORS Um JXusfer Edwznlynn ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 12,1944 zsnetol UNITED STATES-. PATENTv oFF-ICE FLUID CIRCULATING SYSTEMWilliam H. Kuster, San Francisco, and Edwin A. Glynn, Lodi, Galif.

Application Augustfl, 1942, Serial No. 454,059

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the vulcanizing art and particularly tovulcanizing operations which are effected in a closed kettle by means ofa hot gas confined under pressure in the kettle. 'j

In order to assure a proper vulcanizing action, it is desirable tocirculatethe confined gas, and our principal object is to provide a gascirculating system, disposed entirely within the kettle, by means ofwhich a very even distribution of the heated gas over the entire area ofthe kettle is eiected, Without any possibility of a channeling flowaction being had.

The kettle and the circulating system therein are particularly designedfor vulcanizing treads on tires, and another object of the invention isto arrange the circulating system so that the circulating gas, adjacentits point of greatest pressure in the kettle, impinges directly on thetread of a tire so as to have a quick vulcanizing action thereon, andthus avoiding the necessity of leavingv the tires in the kettle for sucha length of time as would cause the sidewalls of the tires to becomeunduly heated.

Another object is to provide, as a lpart of the circulating system, a,means for supporting the tires so that the treads are disposed in thepath of even gas pressures, so that a tread is subjected to the sameeven vulcanizing action all about its circumference...

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and inexpensivedevice and yet one which will be exceedingly elective for the purposefor which it is designed.

These objects we accomplish by means of such structure and relativearrangement of parts as will fully appear by a perusal of the followingspecication and claims.

The figure on the drawing is a sectional elevation of a vulcanizingkettle equipped with our improved circulating system.

Referring now more particularly to the characters of reference on thedrawing, the kettle comprises a pair of substantially semi-sphericalheated insulated shell sections l and 2. The adjacent ends of thesesections are open to each other and lie in a Vertical plane, and whilethey are capable of being moved apart for insertion and removal of thetires. as shown in our copending application for patent, Serial No.454,058, i'lled August 7, 1942, now U; S. Patent No. 2,346,973, they arelocked together in pressuretight relation when in operation. Thislocking is preferably effected by the device shown in our co-pendingapplication, Serial No. 454,060, filed August 7, 1942. The sections areeach provided with an interior wall 3 spaced from the shell proper andwhen ythe sections are secured together, these walls together with theouter shell form a continuous chamber 4 about the interior of the shell.The wall 3 is disposed relative to the wall shell so that the crosssectional area of the chamber at any point between its ends issubstantially constant. The wall 3 is provided withv perforations 5,freely distributed throughout its eXtent,ffor the passage of gastherethrough. y

f The shell section l is provided vwith a hori- Zonta] axiallyk disposedopen ended tubular member 6 connected to the adjacent wall 3 atthe endof the section. A fan chamber 1 is interposed between theadjacent end ofthe member 6 and the adjacentl portion of the chamber 4, and

opens freely into said member. The fan chamber .has relativelyrestricted` communication with the chamber 4 by means of an annularpas-l sage 8 flaring radially out into chamber 4.

A similar tube 9 is alined with the tube lY but is spaced therefromsuflicient to provideV a gap I0 therebetween at adjacentends. This tubeis mounted axially in the shell section 2, but is merely closed at itsouter end and does not directly communicate with thechamber 4. Bothtubes are provided with freely distributed perforations ll somewhatlarger than the perforations 5. The combined area of all perforations 5is somewhat greater than the combined area of all perforations ll plusthe gap I0, due allowance being made for pressure losses in thecirculating gas, owing to friction at the perforations.

A motor driven fan l2 is mounted in the chamber l, drawing from the tube6 and discharging into the adjacent end of chamber 4 all about the samethrough the annular passage 8. The gas to be circulated is initiallydischarged into the kettle at any suitable point, but preferably intothe tube E adjacent the fan chamber by means of a conduit I3 facing thefan. The diameter of the tube members 6 and 9 is no greater than thebead size of any tire, and if a tire T of a larger size is to bevulcanized it is supported from either tube, so as to be concentrictherewith and with the shell, by a suitable spider or spacer asindicated at I4. `In operation, assuming the kettle to be closed andfilled with gas to be circulated, the fan is started, which draws thegas from the tubes and discharges the same into the chamber 4. Due tothe restricted passage or throat 8 through which the gas is initiallyforced,

the pressure is gradually built up within the Vsired hot vulcanizingaction on the chamber. The gas in the chamber then escapes in the formof small streams'through the perforations 5, all such streams initiallymoving substantially radial of the kettle; those in whose path the tireis disposed impinging directly upon 'the tread of the tire with a jetaction before these various small streams become dissipated and theirpressure materially lessened.

VDue'to the relative area of the perforations in the wall 3 and thetubes, as previously set forth, there is no tendency for the gas to movedirectly from one to the other and a channeling action, which wouldotherwise occur, is

Vconcentrate a gasrllow between the wall 3 and a certain portion only oftheV axial return conduit unit 6 and 9, we may mount one or moreremovable slideV sleeves I over said conduit, soY

as to cover any desired number of periorations therein and thusvcausethe gas being drawn toward said conduit unit from substantially theentire area of the wall 3, to move toward a selected portion only, ofsaid return conduit. In this manner any tire etc. can be vulcanized morequickly than would otherwise be the case, and

' the use of such a sleeve would be resorted to when a single tire isbeing treated. Y

YIn the case Vof large size tires whose side walls might be damaged Ybylong exposure to the hot gas, a cold water bag maybe mounted in the tireso as to have a cooling action on the sidewalls for some time withoutaffecting the dethicker tread portion of the tire.

VFrom the foregoing description it willV be readily seen that we haveproduced such ardevice as substantiallyfullls the objects of theinvention as set forth herein.

While this specification sets forth in detail the present and preferredconstruction ofethe device, still in practice such deviations from suchdetail may be Vresorted to as do not form a departure from the spirit ofthe invention, as de.

ned by the appended claims.

Having thus described our invention what we claim as new and useful anddesire to secure by Letters Patent is:

V1. A vulcanizing kettle comprising a wall forming an internal gaschamber, a. substantially spherical and freely perforated shell with-'in and spaced from the Vwalls* ofthe chamber, a y

perforated conduitin the shell open at one end, an kaxial fan chamberinterposed between the open end of the conduit and the adjacent portionof the gas chamber and connecting the same, a fan in said fan chamberdrawing from the conduit, and means forming a circumferential restrictedpassage leading into the gas chamber from about the periphery of the fanchamber, the walls of the passage diverging into said gas chamber thediameter of the fan chamber being relatively small compared with that ofthe gas chamber.

2. A vulcanizing kettle comprising a wall forming an internal gaschamber, a substantially spherical and freelyperforated shell within andspaced from the Walls of the chamber, a perforated conduit unit in theshell communieating with the space between the wallsv of said chamberand said shell, and means to circulate gas confined within the kettlefrom the conduit and back toY the conduit through the perforations inthe shell and conduit; a relatively large opening being provided in theconduit unit all about the same in a zone substantially centrally of thekettle.

3. A tire vulcanizing kettle comprising a pair of complementary kettlesections of greater in-V ternal diameter than a tire and movablehorizontally relative to each other to close or open the kettle, ahorizontal tire support in and fixed with each section disposed axiallyAthereof and extending parallel to the direction of relative movement ofthe sections, said support being adapted to relatively slide through thecentral opening of a tire; there being means to circulate a heated gasWithin the kettle when the sections are closed.V

WILLIAM H. KUSTER.'

EDWIN A. GLYNN.

